Mr. Conway's book contains a lengthy treatise, in the form of a prospectus or handbill, which advertised to the Welsh public that a wonderful opportunity awaited immigrants to East Tennessee. Considering the information contained in the "advertisement," these early immigrants must have been real adventurers. The following is a transcription of the emigration prospectus, describing the East Tennessee region¹:
"1. William Bebb of IIIinois, United States of America; and G. Williams, Pentremawr, Llanbrynmair; and William and John Roberts Jones, Tymawr, Llanbrynmair; and Samuel and Richard Roberts, Diosg, Llanbrynmair, have just purchased over a Hundred Thousand Acres of land in Tennessee, one of the Midland States of America.
"2. It is a land of hills and valleys, springs and rivulets, well adapted for pasturage and the production of grains, grasses, vegetables, fruits, and flowers in a climate justly celebrated for its salubrity and loveliness. Materials for building and fencing are abundant. The villages -- Montgomery, Clinton, Kingston, and Jacksboro -- are in the vicinity; and KnoxviIle, one of the most important towns in the State, but twenty miles off. The situation is highly favorable to Commerce. The Railroad from New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, etc. is nearly finished to Knoxville; and there are Railways already completed from Knoxville to Charleston, Savannah, MobiIe, and other cities of the South, as well as to Memphis on the Mississippi River to the West. And the Railroad Northward to Cincinnati is in rapid progress to completion. In addition to these facilities, the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, flowing near these lands on each side, are navigable for Steamboats to the Ohio and thence to the Mississippi River. Water power to propel mills and factories of all kinds abounds along all the rivers and streams of the district.
"These advantages are thought to be of great value; and it is but fair, at the same time, to state the disadvantages. The place is, as yet, far from any existing Welsh settlements; and churches, schools, and other Christian and social institutions are in their infancy. It is probable that the principal difficuIty to be encountered and overcome, will be to clear the lands and put them in a fit condition for Agriculture. But it is believed that it is better to encounter the labor of clearing where there is too much forest, than to incur the cost of hauling timber from afar, where there is too little; and besides, forests are of incalculable value for ornament, for shade, and for protection against wind and storms.
"3. The above-named persons intend to settle upon these lands, clear farms, erect habitations, and build up their churches, academies, and schools; and they hope and expect to see soon, flourishing neighborhoods of industrious, energetic, and honest families, cultivating peace, charity, and hospitality, loving the Bible and considering their latter end. And they expect as a result of these advantages, natural, commercial, social, intellectual, and religious, that the lands will rapidly advance in value. Lands not far off are now worth a hundred dollars an acre; and higher prices will be asked for these lands after the present year.
"4. The said proprietors are ready to sell so much of said lands as they do not occupy, in larger or smaller tracts to suit purchasers; and it is in their power to sell at very low prices. To such as desire to purchase without delay and to cultivate and improve their several purchases, land will be sold at half-a-crown an acre. A family might thus purchase a farm of eighty acres for ten pounds; a hundred sixty acres for twenty pounds; or eight hundred acres for one hundred pounds sterling! Some of the most inconvenient corners they expect to sell at prices still lower: to counterbalance which, a price somewhat higher will be asked for select situations of great value. In a hundred thousand acres of land there will be a wide field for selection; and every purchaser will have the right to choose in his turn, according to the number of his Certificate of purchase; so that those who first purchase will have the advantage of first choice in the order of their several purchases. Should two or more friends and neighbors wish to settle together, they may unite to purchase a tract according to their means and divide it amongst them at their convenience. It will not be advisable for any one to vest much more than one third of his means in lands. There is to some a temptation to put too much of their money in land, and thus not to have sufficient means to erect habitations and cultivate it; that is at once an injury to themselves and to the prosperity of the neighborhood. Should any purchaser fail for two years in any way to improve his lands, the proprietors reserve the right to re-take possession of said land and to return to him his money, with five per cent interest from the day of purchase.
"5. There is abundance of excellent coal and iron and, it is believed, other minerals on these lands; and the proprietors aforesaid intend to form a Company to work the coal and iron and other minerals to be found thereon. They believe this will rapidly advance the price of the lands and all their products as well as the general interest and well being of the settlement; and they desire every purchaser of these lands to become a member of that company and to hold a share therein, and of the profits thereof, in proportion to the number of acres he may purchase and hold.
"6. The proprietors will, on an early day after they and their fellow-emigrants shall arrive there in the spring of A. D. 1857, open an Office at some convenient place on the lands, of which due notice will be given, when and where all purchasers must without delay, either by themselves or agents, appear and make their several entries in the order of the numbers of their respective Certificates of purchase. Before that time, very few of the purchasers will be able to emigrate thither: but should any purchaser or purchasers choose to go before that time with a view to reconnoitre or settle, they are at liberty to pasture animals on any part of said lands for their own benefit until that day of allotment.
"7. The proprietors had long struggled under deep anxiety before they resolved on this enterprise. They were desirous at first to induce others to unite with them and take part of the responsibility; but no one was ready at the time and they had to step forward at once or the opportunity would have been lost. There is now a fair prospect that enough are ready to buy. In offering land so productive, in a place so healthful, within reach of so many advantages, under a government so liberal, on terms so low as half-a-crown an acre, they believe they are offering a rich boon to many whose burdens in this country are now heavy and growing heavier and heavier from year to year.
All persons desiring to purchase will please direct to Samuel Roberts, Llanbrynmair, Montgomeryshire" (pp. 112-114). [The original of this document is in the National Library of Wales, Luther Thomas Deposit, Tennessee Papers. The prospectus was produced in both English and Welsh, with slight variations in syntax.]
